Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Lazy Minimalist

A friend has recently bought a new house and is in the
process of decorating it. She is busy putting up sweet family photos on the
walls, placing beautiful antiques in strategic corners and hunting for
one-of-a-kind knick knacks to add to the décor of her new home. I must say that
she has a good eye and fine taste from what I have seen and her home looks
lovely – cozy, stylish and welcoming. I looked at all the pictures and then I looked at
the walls in my house. Stark.

My walls are painted a neutral cream colour. Apart from
that, I have not put up any photos or paintings and neither have I beautified the
house with carefully selected artefacts. Strangely, whenever I used to dream
about my perfect house when I was growing up, I always imagined that I would do
it up with classy décor. However, thinking back to all the different houses
that I have lived in from the time I started staying away from my parents’
home, I notice one similarity. I did not do any sort of personalization to any
of my homes. Of course, the basics are there – furniture and the like - and I
like things clean; but beyond that, zilch. The only exception being our bedroom door, which has stickers of Disney characters that the previous occupants left behind and I haven't even bothered to remove.. If we were to move out tomorrow and
a stranger drops by I doubt if they would have any clue as to the kind of
people who were living there – except perhaps for a faint smell of Indian food and a misconception that we are parents,
maybe?

I think one of the reasons behind my approach is because I
know that this is going to be my temporary home. Since it is rented and we have
really not been involved in actually designing or building the home, perhaps I
don’t feel that personal connect. Having said that, I do know many people whose
houses are so artfully done up despite them being in rented accommodations. Secondly,
I feel that more the objects around the house, more the dusting and cleaning involved.
And frankly, I am too lazy. I try to avoid buying too many things unless they have a specific use. I guess I would prefer to maintain a minimalistic
abode if it means less chores! Plus, when you need to move homes - or as an
expat even countries - there is lesser number of stuff to pack or dispose off,
which means less work for me.

What about you? Do you enjoy customizing your home or do you
lean towards minimalism?

1 comment:

I do think that's it's a very good clean look when nothings clutters up a place.

When I was young my parents taught me to be minimalist when customizing my room because it's always easiest to clean, but over time stuff gets added on and then again, it bothers me because things start to look messy and i must get rid of it. It's a never ending battle.